Shinken: True Swords
by storiewriter
Summary: To enter the Gotei, Rukongai's elite group of fighters, Rukia's final test is a mission. She must successfully help a young man with a curse to find treatment, but the curse is more than it seems. Below even that, a plot has begun to unfold. AU. HIATUS


**A/N:** So. Yeah. This is, in fact, my first Bleach story attempt. Thusly, I apologize for any out-of-characters, any wrong terms, and so on. I'm giving you fair warning here: the very very very _very_ likely pairing here is going to be Ichiruki. There is going to be no yaoi, and there will be no mature situations such as intercourse or a variation thereof. It'd be rather contradictory for me to write that, as I am a _minor_.

Otherwise, I do not own Bleach and am making no profit off of this. In fact, the one who _is_ making any variation of profit is my sister, Oreramar, who pushed this plot bunny onto me and got me hooked and made me start and then keep writing. If she hadn't, this wouldn't be here. I do hope that this isn't too terrible, and that you get some sense of enjoyment from it. Just remember; I'm young, I make mistakes, and this isn't going to be perfect.

Enjoy.

* * *

The Gotei have been a part of the kingdom for over a century, when they aligned themselves to the king as _the_ elite organization in the land. The kingdom had been falling, the enemy marching closer and closer to the capital, Seireitei, and the local army had been beaten down to a pulp. Then, up rose the Gotei, and with their might pushed back the enemy single-handedly in a show of tremendous power, showing the Hollows which race was the true ruler of the land of Rukongai. They were rumored to be masters of controlling their emotions and experts at whatever they did. They made no mistakes, and were the most perfect beings you could find in the entire world.

The procedures to recruiting and choosing new Gotei required quite a bit of expert shadowing. These recruiters tagged the people already in the King's army who showed huge potential in _something_, whether it be magic, swordplay, stealth, ranged weaponry, or simply great strength in berserker attacks. While the knights of the King may be strong in what they do and steadfastly loyal to the King, it is said that if a knight went up against one of the senior members, and thus more experienced members, of the Gotei, the knight would lose by a landslide.

This is what legend said; the Gotei were and still are the elite of the land of Rukongai, experts in their field and masters of controlling their own tempers. This is what legend says—they are perfect, no matter if they are but a Gotei member on a mission or a senior member.

Unfortunately, legends and stories include quite a bit of exaggeration. And while the Gotei are certainly skilled, not all of them are skilled at controlling their emotions.

This is the position Gotei-hopeful Kuchiki Rukia has found herself in; knowing she needs to control her (rather explosive) temper, for both her father-brother figure's pride and to upkeep the image of the Gotei, but finding that she's rapidly losing both it and the will to even care about keeping up the front. Taking in a deep breath that screamed out all her annoyance and frustration in the quietest way possible, she reached up slowly with stiff, angry fingers towards the thorned vine that had tangled in her hair. As she worked in a slow, controlled manner to _un_tangle it, she inwardly fumed and kept trying to bottle the fuming inside herself at the same time.

The mission _had_ to come up when she was ready to go through the final procedure in becoming a Gotei, didn't it? And Unohana-san, however sweet and wonderful she may appear to be, was secretly hiding something vindictive underneath, she swore. The day before, she had accidentally knocked over some of the woman's sumi-e art that was drying, causing the ink to run and the pieces to be ruined. In trying to fix the mess, she had bumped into a side table and the jostle had caused a vase that looked very home-made to fall. It was at that moment that the woman had walked in and, upon seeing the mess, stopped short. Upon seeing a very apologetic Rukia in the middle of it, a dark, terrible look passed over her face for a few moments. Rukia had then fallen silent on the advice of some buried instinct that said it was smart if she just stayed still and didn't say a word. Apart from staring at her with those intensely intimidating eyes for a moment, nothing came of the encounter on Unohana's part. Byakuya nii-sama, on the other hand, had Rukia help out in the medical area under Unohana's command for a time. Other than that, nothing…until _this_.

_This_ was the mission filed by a man named Urahara Kisuke, out in the forest beyond the town of Karakura. He stated that he had a person in need of a companion on the search for a cure to some extremely nasty curse. Through Unohana, who apparently had ties to this man, he had managed to bring this mission to the attention of the person in charge of sorting requests; a rookie genius, surname Hitsugaya. He'd apparently deemed it suitable for approved applicants to the Gotei, and somehow, _some_body had found it within Rukia's capabilities. That person certainly wasn't Kuchiki Byakuya, seeing as he had been adamantly against Rukia's entrance into the organization.

Looking up after she untangled the mess and scanning her surroundings for that faint deer path that was, apparently, the only path _to _Urahara's house, she had to push down another burst of annoyed anger. She _wasn't_ her sister! She wasn't some fragile woman who needed to be looked after constantly, her health to be feared for and her physical condition too brittle for anything akin to the combat and the missions the Gotei went on. She was stronger in that sense than her sister—her health was fine, and she was extremely resilient to colds. Rukia _wasn't_ Hisana, and she wished that her brother-in-law, who she thought of as a father, would realize that already.

A faint indent in the grass and shrubbery underfoot told her where the path was, and she shook her head violently. It was no use thinking these thoughts—she had the mission, she was _going_ to complete it, no matter how long it dragged on, and she _was_ going to be a member of the Gotei, whether or not she had her father—brother's approval. It was high time she started thinking for herself and making decisions based on what she wanted and what she needed.

Rukia continued on, ducking under yet another swath of those persistent vines and then, a few steps later, climbing over a fallen trunk covered in a thick coating of moss. Her sleeve edge, however, caught on one of the protruding stumps and she finally swore under her breath in frustration, reaching for the sleeve at the same time.

"I never thought I'd see the day when I saw a Kuchiki swear!"

She probably jumped about a foot, effectively freeing her sleeve, and pressed her back to the trunk at the same time. Right hand on hilt and left lifting the scabbard in a flash, she lowered her center of gravity into a fighting stance and studied the figure without really seeing him. He was taller, and she knew how to use her short stature to her advantage. Looking up at his face, she caught sight of a dingy hat that looked like it had been patched together in haphazard stripes of green and white out of several scraps of material. Something pulling at her memory caused her to look down at his feet, and she saw a pair of incredibly uncomfortable looking wooden sandals.

As she relaxed, she remembered the tail end of the conversation with the two twin girls in the village when she had asked them for directions.

_"Uncle Kisuke's always got this hat on—it's got green and white stripes and looks like it was stitched together by somebody who really doesn't know how to sew. It's also rather raggedy, but he's never seen anywhere without it. His sandals are made of a very, very hard wood, and they look incredibly uncomfortable…I've offered to buy him softer ones, but he's always kindly refused. There's also this fan, and no matter how many times my sister swipes it and…burns it, he's always got another one in a few seconds. Uncle Kisuke also usually wears this black overcoat, and it's also extremely well-used." _

_"In other words, he's a real hobo." The second girl said shortly._

_"Don't say that about Uncle Kisuke!" the younger looking girl with the long brown hair admonished her sister. "No matter what he looks like, he's still our uncle!"_

_"I refuse to recognize him as such, and can because he's not really our uncle." The black haired girl said, before returning her attention to Rukia. "Say hi to him for me with a punch, will ya? And ask him to tell us where our no-good excuse for a brother is. He promised to be home by now."_

"You're…Urahara Kisuke-san, right?"

The man whipped open a fan and held it up besides his face, which was contorted in a wide grin. "I'm that famous already? How fantastic!"

Rukia stared at him, and said, "I had to ask about ten people before I found some who knew _who_ you were and _where_ you lived."

Urahara drooped noticeably, but perked right up and asked, "Then who told you? Who was the person who knew? The visting lord from Hueco Mundo? The King of Koutotsu?"

"Two twin sisters, one of which claimed you were their uncle and the other who has apparently disowned you."

He sighed, and lowered the fan and tucked it in a pocket of the large, black overcoat that reached his knees. "How depressing, to see that my heroic deeds haven't reached the outside world yet."

Rukia continued, though she was having second thoughts about this mission. "The one who disowned you—Karin, I think it was—said to tell you that you need to tell them where their brother is."

Urahara laughed nervously. "Did she say to say hello to me?"

"Yes." Despite the fact that Urahara was a complete stranger, she was thinking that somebody needed to hit him, because he'd obviously gone off his rocker.

"Don't bother." He half-turned and waved a hand in a gesture of beckoning. "Come on; the sooner I send the two of you off, the better it will be. I'm sure my client will agree."

She nodded, falling immediately into her role as being a professional. Her father-brother had beat it into her in his own, stick-up-his-spine way, and the case called for it. "Why did you come out to meet me?"

"You were taking too long, and I thought you might have gotten lost. My home is extremely difficult to find." He looked at her over her shoulder with the fan over his face. "My client was also getting anxious again."

"Why?"

He laughed a little and waved the fan at her. "It's not important. I'm impressed you made it this far; worthy of the Kuchiki name."

A little unsure of what to say to the apparent compliment, Rukia fiddled with the strap of her bag while she considered her next words. "About the mission…"

"Yes?"

"Could you please go over the situation in detail? I need to have the information in order to be able to come up with a plan of action."

Urahara hummed a few short notes before he, stepping over one of the thorned vines that Rukia was beginning to think were like weeds in the area, answered. "Well, first things first, this curse is rather nasty, especially to somebody like my client. The details of _that_ aren't very important, though. However, because the curse is what it is, you'll need to find somebody extremely good at magic…in other words, a sorcerer or sorceress would be good."

Rukia narrowed her eyes. "Aren't you one?"

"It's only a hobby." The man fanned himself a few times with a large grin on his face. "Besides, I'm not very good at curse lifting _or_ burying. I enjoy inventing more."

She waited for him to take a few more steps before following, having had very bad experiences with people who liked…_inventing_ with magic. The particular man, admittedly, had been certifiably mad (she thought) and enjoyed mixing magic with science to see what it came up with. He, most of all, enjoyed working on living, sentient subjects, and that diplomatic visit as a simple guard had left her with nightmares for a week.

Urahara continued on, not noticing or choosing to ignore Rukia's distancing of herself from him. "Besides, you need a sorcerer or sorceress with a moderate amount of talent, so don't go to the wizard or witch classes—aim a little higher. Natural ability would be preferred, or somebody who's spent nearly their entire life doing this and has had teaching in the area, but that doesn't always mean the person is good. I've met sorcerers without teaching that were stronger than others who had both a teacher and natural talent."

Rukia nodded, but asked, "Since sorcerers and sorceresses usually live in seclusion, should we go into the outlands, where there aren't as many villages and towns?"

"No," he said as he shook his head. "The good, _sane_ ones tend to live only a small ways out from a place where they can easily access food and other commodities of the modern world."

She wondered what this said about _him_.

"Other than that, because of the nature of the curse…you may want to avoid staying at an inn or hotel."

"Why?"

He looked at her for only a moment. "You're better off not knowing now. Just keep that in mind on this trip."

Only when Rukia nodded did the eccentric man look forward again, and she ventured a question after a few moments of near silence. "And the mission himself?"

She _felt_ the grin coming from his direction. "Funny thing, actually. He's a bit of a noble, heroic type, and when he got the curse, he immediately ran through the forest to the southern border—despite them being on less-than-easy terms with us. However, in his blind panic, which is unlike himself, he _forgot_ that his dear, most wonderful Uncle's house was in the way. Of course," the grin seeped even further into his voice, "he did realize in the end, but too late. It was rather entertaining, watching him scream at Tessai and I from that high-level binding spell—do you know any of those?" he asked suddenly.

"Um," she paused, "I only know Bindings one through twenty-three."

He turned his head so that he could see her. "Remind me to give you a _lot_ of Tessai's magically-reinforced heavy rope. With my dear nephew, you'll _need_ it."

"…Okay. Is he good at getting rid of those kinds of spells?"

"Extremely." They passed a pole with a sign, which was hanging off of it in a crooked fashion. Gouged into the wood were the words _The Famed Kisuke Urahara's Home of Glory_, but somebody had apparently tried to scratch out 'Famed' and 'Glory' after adding 'Hobo' and 'Insanity', respectively. The smaller letters underneath said _Tessai, Jinta, and Ururu live here as well, the poor suckers._ Rukia assumed they were nearing her destination at long last, while Urahara explained further.

"My nephew…how to put this…has an _immense_ amount of magical potential. However, he lacks the finesse to use it sparingly and wisely, and so he's constantly emitting a, though small, steady amount. This steady amount, for one thing, can disintegrate any low-level or non-magical bindings that are restricting him within an hour, at most. Higher levels may take more, but by that time he's immensely ticked off and that emotion will then increase the amount of leakage which increases its 'magical acidity'. Thus, it takes less times for the bindings to snap."

"Then," Rukia asked slowly, "wouldn't he be able to get out of any binding, as long as he had time?"

Urahara waved the fan around in the air. "That would be correct! Yet, you're forgetting a couple things. He cannot control his magical energy with finesse, and many of the higher-level binding spells require a large amount of energy being jabbed into a certain spot in the make-up of the binding. This way, the bindings do not erode as lower-level or regular rope does. My nephew, because he cannot focus the energy in a controlled enough fashion, cannot then escape the bindings because of their make-up and his inability to truly control his potential."

Rukia opened her mouth to ask why this man—Urahara hadn't mentioned his name _yet_—did not focus on controlling his magical energy, or _reiatsu_, as the Gotei called it, but they turned around the bend and Urahara's focus was stolen. Raising the open fan as high as he could, he hollered at the two small forms on the shabby porch of an equally shabby-looking home.

"JINTA-KUN! URURU-SAN! CHILDREN, YOUR FOSTER FATHER HAS RETURNED TO HIS HUMBLE ABODE!"

The red-haired boy raised his head and waved the broom at Urahara threateningly. "Go away, you old geezer! Have you been taking lessons from that dumbass Kurosaki Isshin?"

Urahara unexpectedly staggered back in a show of theatrics, gripping his heart. "Oh, Jinta! How could you wound me, your caretaker, your guardian, your loving elder, so terribly? Rukia-chan, I fear that I may…" he fell back. "Die."

As he fell, Rukia wasn't sure whether she should catch the man or just let him fall onto the ground. Just as she was about to step forward and 'do the right thing', she was reminded of their massive differences in height, and thus mass.

Rukia stepped out of the way, and Urahara, too late to balance himself, hit the ground with a sudden 'thump'.

A sudden crow of harsh laughter from the porch was drowned out by Urahara's theatrical bemoaning. "I thought you were kind, Rukia-chan! How malicious this entire world is! What crime have I committed that Fate is so brutal to me? Oh, pitiless world! Oh, cruel, cruel world!"

All the diminutive young woman could do was stare at him. _This_…was the genius several of the Gotei had spoken about?

So engrossed in incredulously watching Urahara, Rukia didn't notice the man come out of the house until his shadow loomed over her and he spoke.

"Manager…are you all right?"

Rukia turned her head slowly and was met with the sight of a large, extremely muscular man looming over her with glasses reflecting the glare of the little light had filtered through the clearing's edge. A thick moustache hid the majority of his nose, from Rukia's point of view, but other than that he had no facial hair that she could see. He was, in one word, intimidating.

_Why_ were all the people of the world so _freakishly_ tall?

"Oh, Tessai! Tessai, my savior! Please tell me that you, at the very least, love me?" Urahara moaned in false agony up at the man without fear.

Tessai stared at him, but shook his head. "Manager…our client is getting extremely impatient."

Urahara's face immediately relaxed into a frown. "How impatient?"

"He's gone to, somehow, attempting to crush the rock ledges I keep sitting on to keep an eye on him."

"Attempting?" The man stood and brushed himself off, and Rukia narrowed her eyes.

"Well," Tessai admitted, "He's fractured one of them. Manager…I am sorry for what I did."

The owner sighed in exasperation. "Rukia-chan, let us introduce you to our client—however, before that, I need to give you something. Tessai-san?"

"I will get them. Do you want the emergency one as well?"

"Yes, please."

The larger man bowed a short ways, and then headed back into the house. After a few moments, Urahara flipped his fan up to shield the bottom part of his face and turned to Rukia.

"Let me show to you my humble abode of wonders!"

Rukia reflected that she didn't really have any choice in the matter, as the man had immediately grabbed her wrist with the enthusiasm of a child and was dragging her towards the rackety building.

As she disappeared past the children and through the door, the red-haired boy grinned at her alarmingly, while the girl with odd bangs just _looked_ at her with these big eyes that screamed pity.

The house, if it could even be called one, was as cluttered on the inside as it was ramshackle on the outside. Dust was streaked over some of the barren shelves as though somebody had halfheartedly attempted to clean up some of the mess; the books that had possibly been set on them had been pushed to the floor and scattered there. They passed from that room into what seemed to be the kitchen/dining area, where dishes from that morning had been left on the table still. Thankfully, the sinks were empty, but Rukia simply wasn't used to seeing such a mess in a house, having been brought up in her brother-father's home.

The room farthest back, where Urahara finally came to a stop and released Rukia, was crowded with counters and cupboards and a large table in the middle. Beakers full of strange liquids—she had a suspicion they were something like spiritual energy—were grouped together meticulously, and notebooks upon notebooks were spread all over the table. Three-foot tall thick cylinders of glass placed strategically throughout the room contained bright flames that hovered somewhere near the middle of the tube's height, and illuminated the area nicely. On the floor by the far wall, where there was a gap in the counter space, a trapdoor was held open by a rope connected to the wall. From the opening, Rukia noticed in concern, there seemed to be angry screaming and shouting wafting up.

The floor shook under her feet and Rukia gritted her teeth under the sheer intensity of the spiritual pressure. She looked up at the man beside her and raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, pay no mind to that," he grinned and walked around the table, fanning himself casually, "that's just your client. Before you meet him, however—don't look at me like that, I saw you start to move over there—Tessai needs to give you some…_equipment_ to deal with this curse. He's likely to be a while."

She looked at him, puzzled. "Why would I need equipment?"

Urahara crouched down and looked under the table, frowning as he answered her. "Did I not tell you it was a dangerous curse? This, Rukia-chan…" he paused, and then pushed something metal out of the way and twitched his fan in a peculiar manner, causing an orb of pale blue light to hover at the tip of it, "is a _terrible_ curse. You wouldn't be able to hold my nephew off while he's in that state for more than a minute—and I'd be impressed if you lasted that long. Oh, where did Jinta _put_ it?"

Rukia was silent as she absorbed what she'd been told. This was obviously a dangerous mission, and she wasn't sure if she was suited for something like this. However, if she completed this—as difficult as it sounded—she might be seen as strong, capable Rukia, not weak, fragile Hisana. That is what she had always wanted.

She was distracted from her thoughts by the sound of several metallic objects tumbling to the floor and hitting each other and a high-pitched yelp emerging from under the table. As she looked over, Urahara pushed himself from the space beneath his work area with a bundle of scraps of cloth in one hand and a bar in the other. The bar, Rukia noted with interest, seemed to be emitting a steady stream of reiatsu that felt faintly like Urahara's own.

"I need you to do me a small favor while Tessai gets the containment lanterns," he dumped all but one of the scraps of cloth on the table and held the rod under that one. "Can you sense the reiatsu? Nodding and shaking will suffice for this."

Raising an eyebrow, she nodded. Urahara seemed almost pleased by this, and let the fabric drop to the floor. Picking up another scrap, he placed the rod under it.

"Can you sense it?"

Lifting a hand, she tipped it back and forward. "It was reduced, but I can still sense it."

Letting the cloth drop, he pulled another one and repeated the process. About four scraps later, Rukia furrowed her eyebrows and bit her lip, staring at the rod and cloth in his hand.

"…Well?"

Feeling she needed to explain, she spoke. "I can sense a little bit, but not a lot. It's barely registering on my senses, and I'm rather good at sensing reiatsu." Her brother-in-law was better, and so was Unohana-san and the Sou-Taichou, but she was still proficient.

He grinned a mad grin and placed it back on the table, away from the couple pieces of material left. Pulling one of them off the table, he held it over the rod and just looked at her.

She nodded, and Tessai came in the room with a box under one arm. The muscled man stared at the experiment, looked at Urahara, and then sighed.

"Manager, you had me doing this two days ago. And before that, Leader-san came over and you had him do it as well. The day before that, you had Jinta and Ururu do that. Why?"

Urahara simply placed a scrap of cloth over the rod and sighed mournfully. "Oh, Tessai-san, you still don't know? I could have sworn I've told you at least a hundred times…"

Rukia nodded to Urahara, and he dropped the cloth before pulling the last one rather dramatically over the rod. Rukia frowned.

"Manager," Tessai said politely. "Get to the point."

"A scientist must have several different rounds of experimenting. In this case, every person has a different level of sensing reiatsu, and Kuchikis, while Isshin is rather good at sensing, are excellent in that field—adopted or not."

"Urahara-san, I don't feel much from it. Just barely there." Rukia cut in, and was now nonplussed when the man smiled knowingly.

"And now," he said, and with a flourish snatched the cloth that had been placed back on the table. He then placed it over the other. "Do you sense anything?"

As much as she strained her senses, she felt nothing. Shaking her head, she examined the scientist's face closely, and saw the flash of triumph streak across his features.

Muttering to himself, he carefully wrapped the two cloths around the bar. "Now, if I can find a way to weave these two together so that they don't interfere too much with each other…then it'd be lightweight, and if one tore there wouldn't be an explosive leak through the rip…" he trailed off as he carefully placed the cloths and rod on the table, then kicked the other scraps under the table. He remained in a slightly slouched position for a few more moments.

Tessai coughed.

Standing up ram-rod straight, Urahara turned to face Rukia and Tessai. Whipping the fan so it was situated in front of his nose and mouth, his eyes crinkled at the corners and Rukia could tell he was smiling.

"So, Tessai, could you show our esteemed guest the technology?"

The taller man coughed, and, with a small flourish, set the box down on the floor and opened it in quick, flowing movements. Moments later he pulled out what seemed like…a lantern. What Rukia found peculiar about this lantern was that it was basically a black box with a ring attached to the top. The lack of windows confounded her the most, and she opened her mouth to ask.

Urahara simply started explaining before she could get a word out. "This is what I'm calling, at the moment, a containment lantern—simple name, rather boring, but it does what it needs to do. What it does—the first one is the lead lantern, and the white stripe around the top helps tell it apart, you need to remember that—working with three other lanterns, creates a box-shaped shield that contains a person."

Puzzled, but not willing to show it, Rukia maintained her calm expression. "That seems like it'd take a lot of energy from the person maintaining it—and what if the prisoner inside broke through the barrier, or destroyed one of the lanterns?"

"Ah! Tessai-san, could you please set them up so they demonstrate?"

Tessai approached Rukia with two of the lanterns in each hand. "Kuchiki-san, may you please sit on the floor?"

Letting her brow furrow, the Gotei-hopeful lowered herself to the floor and sat cross-legged. Tessai placed the lanterns in a rectangle around her, the striped-ring one last, then crouched before said lantern. Touching the box's face with his fingers, she felt him sent out a jolt of reiatsu, and a split second later a humming noise filled the air. She blinked, and suddenly there was a semi-transparent yellow box that emitted a steady drone all around her. Rukia reached a hand out and tried to brush a side of the wall, but there was a burst of energy that ran through her fingers and she drew her hand back sharply. The boxes were not inside the shield, she noticed, and Tessai didn't look harried at all. In fact, she, when she stretched out her senses, she couldn't feel him doing anything with his reiatsu.

"This device works by feeding on the energy surrounding the trapped person or, in an unlikely circumstance, persons. It thus produces an extremely powerful barrier that may not be breached except in the occasion that the contained being delivers a highly-concentrated blow, physical or with reiatsu, that is more powerful than the barrier at that moment in time." Urahara explained. "That being said, can you find its greatest weakness?"

Rukia nodded. "If the person brings their energy within him or herself to the point where the machine has nothing to feed off of, then they may cause the machines to either die or reduce the shields to a point where they can break the barrier easily."

Urahara clapped and waved the fan up and down. "Correct! But in this case, it works perfectly for my nephew, because of reasons stated before this. He can't do much better in his cursed state, either, so while it may be a bit of a prototype, it's perfect for the occasion." He motioned to Tessai, who turned off the device and let Rukia stand.

Dusting off her hakama, she waited for Tessai to pack up the rest of the equipment, and was mildly surprised to find Urahara hand a lantern out to her; it was smaller than the rest, and was colored white with a black ring at the top.

"This is the emergency containment lantern. Keep it with you at all times, because if the barrier fails, this will take over the lead lantern's job from any location and lock my cursed nephew inside a barrier generated by the remaining three lanterns."

She raised her eyebrows. "This implies that...you actually _expect_ it to fail." Was this curse so strong that this obviously powerful barrier may be destroyed?

The fan flicked over his face, and only his shadowed eyes were visible in the light. "I have confidence in my creation, but it is always best to have a back-up plan. Should that fail..." Rukia felt a chill go down her back as he lowered his voice and stooped over to stare more into her eyes. "You should flee as fast as you can, and do not mind your promotion. I believe that being alive from running is far more intelligent than being dead from stupid courage."

There was an awkwardly echoing silence between them for a few moment, and sweat beaded Rukia's brow even though she retained her unaffected stance and expression. The eccentric man then straightened and the somber mood was lifted. "Ah, well, I believe in your abilities completely, and trust nothing will go wrong with the mission. Tessai, could you put that box on the table? We'll get it on the way back." He addressed Rukia. "Would you like to meet my nephew before you depart?"

The diminutive woman raised her eyebrows and gave him an exasperated look as she retied her obi after sliding the remarkably light emergency lantern onto it.. "I would like to, but can you ever refer to him by name? And are we traveling on foot, or have you secured transportation for us?"

Urahara grinned as they walked around the table. "To answer your second question, I have a couple of hardy horses for your travel, and one-yours-has a harness made specially to carry the box of lanterns. And as for the second..." He gestured for her to go down the ladder first.

Turning and putting her feet on the top rung, she looked up at him, expecting an answer.

"Well...you'll see." He gave her a smug smile, then snapped his fingers. A rush of air and a displaced stomach later, she was at the bottom rung. Letting out a shaky breath, she stepped off the ladder and stumbled back before sitting down and composing herself.

"OI! Sandal-Hat, where the hell are you? I heard the ladder go down, I know you're there! C'mon!" An obviously male voice rang out, tinged with annoyance, anger, frustration, and a little hint of defeat. It echoed oddly around the desert-like rock formations that built up out of the hard, glowing stone floor.

Rukia had to suppress a snicker, but simply waited for the eccentric man to come down. She did not have to wait long, as a blurred form shot down the ladder, and, as soon as he stepped off, another blurred from the top after him. Urahara simply smiled at her as the voice spoke up again.

"Wait-Wait, you...you _didn't_."

Urahara called out as he started walking between two of the monstrous formations, "Oh, my dear nephew! I have brought _com-pany~!_"

"Sandal-hat, wouldja stop _acting_ like my old man already? You've been up to it for days on end!"

She followed between Urahara (as he snickered) and Tessai for several twists and turns as they made their way through the maze of red tinged stone to...wherever he was. Before long, they rounded a wall-like formation and there, tied rather skillfully to a fairly thin and tall series of rock that resembled a pole, was a young man with startlingly orange hair and glaring brown eyes. He had a form-fitting black coat and thin black pants on, and a white shirt underneath the coat.

"This," Urahara sang out, "Is my nephew, Kurosaki Ichigo. He's your client, obviously, and he loves his dear Uncles Urahara and Tessai so very very much for helping him out he-"

"Kami take it, Sandal-hat, _quit_ trying to make me call you Uncle! And do you call tying up your friend's son _helping _him? Dammit, Urahara!" The furrow in his brow and the set of his scowl seemed almost...permanent, Rukia noted with interest. As Urahara fell to the ground and started, quite theatrically, expressing his agony at how his 'dear, darling nephew' couldn't call him 'Uncle' and appealing to Tessai-san to help him in his (Urahara's) endeavors, she noted with even _more_ interest that the veins in his forehead stood out even more and his right eye twitched alarmingly as his foot shifted like it was seeking to plant itself in his 'Uncle's' face.

Then he noticed her.

"_Getaboshi..._" Kurosaki's _left_ eye started twitching and he stood up a little straighter, "You're getting a little midget girl to babysit me?"

Rukia's opinion of him dropped drastically, and she was over in a flash. The sound of the slap (she didn't want to hurt him too badly) echoed nicely throughout the cavern and around the heaps of stone that seemed to grow everywhere, and there was silence.

"_Boy_," she said, "I suggest you keep those comments to yourself."

A gleam entered his eye, but he retained his scowl. "Midget."

Rukia's eye twitched. "_Baka_."

"Vertically-challenged sitter."

"You need a sitter, you act so immature." she shot back.

She felt Urahara look at Tessai and she knew he was grinning, but she continued standing on her little rock that let her stare into the young man's eyes and they _glared_ at each other.

At the moment, she hadn't even realized she'd let her Kuchiki calm slip away from her. All she was concerned with was teaching this child, this insubordinate little child, a lesson that was long due.

People-meaning her best friend, Renji-always told her she had a wicked, sharp tongue, and she intended to use it. Opening her mouth, she prepared to assault the young man with a barrage of insults, but was stopped by Urahara speaking.

"All right, Ichigo-kun, this is Kuchiki Rukia-chan. Rukia-chan, I've already introduced you to Kurosaki Ichigo-kun, so you'll have to make do. Ichigo-kun, Rukia-chan knows that you've got a curse already, and you are her...test to enter the Gotei, so she's a rather powerful sitter, as you call her." Urahara's fan was folded and tapping against one hand as he spoke. "Play nice to each other-Ichigo-kun, you had _better_ not...ruin her chance of passing."

The atmosphere darkened and became heavier, and the young man nodded sharply after a while. There was silence as Tessai, after a signal from Urahara, moved to untie Ichigo.

His eyes narrowed. "Sandal-hat, have you told her the particulars?"

Urahara looked at the ceiling of the cavern and whistled innocently, answering Ichigo's question sufficiently.

"Dammit, Urahara!" the enraged young man roared, and Rukia shifted to accommodate the reiatsu that was pouring out of him. Urahara hadn't been exaggerating, she thought. There was absolutely no end to the power flowing out of him. "Why _didn't_ you? It's dangerous! It's absolutely _wrong_ to leave out the facts that may endanger a person's life!"

"I have taken precautions, Ichigo." Urahara said calmly, but there was an edge to his voice. "Do you believe I would pull the wool over somebody's eyes in a way they would be physically hurt in the end?"

Silence. Rukia leaned back against a stone and stared at the ceiling, uncomfortable with the drama that was unfolding. She glanced down to look at the young man's eyes-he was freed and rubbing his wrists at this point-and there was a fire in them, but also an understanding and acceptance.

When he didn't speak, she made a choice. "Do not underestimate me simply because of how I look, Kurosaki-san. I am a Kuchiki, and I am not fragile-I can handle it, especially when the danger is reduced in the way Urahara-san has provided." Her voice stern, her stance no-nonsense, and her eyes truthful; that was how she was portraying herself, and she knew it. Conflicting thoughts warred in the man's eyes, but in the end he nodded, retaining eye-contact with her.

Urahara interrupted them yet again. "It's an hour before midday, so I suggest making as much ground as possible before nightfall. Don't run the horses ragged-keep it at a healthy pace. Do you understand that, Ichigo?"

Kurosaki nodded and then asked, "Do I get Zangetsu back?"

Rukia raised her brow as she heard Urahara answer. "Yes, you get your sword back. Before you retire at night, however, you need to give it to Kuchiki-chan."

Named swords were extremely powerful, and she knew that well. Absentmindedly stroking Sode no Shirayuki's hilt, she wondered why a young man such as he should need such a sword.

Giving out a grumble, the young man voiced his assent to Urahara.

"Wonderful! Well, then, shall we have the two of you depart at last?" The fan flicked and fluttered, and Tessai gave a nod in the background, the light (also glowing out the ceiling) glinting off his glasses.

"Yeah. Whatever." Kurosaki said in an uncaring tone.

Rukia wanted to hit him for that voice. It sounded too much like her brother's, and she hated the coldness it gave off, the apathy for whatever or whoever it was speaking about.

Her opinion of him lowered drastically again.

* * *

Urahara watched the two ride off as the sun was nearing its peak and frowned a little. Ichigo's curse was nasty, and despite everything he'd told Rukia, he wasn't completely sure if she'd be able to handle it. As far as Urahara was considered, she was a rookie-a talented rookie, to be sure, but a rookie nonetheless. He also didn't know how she'd be able to take it if he'd told her all the details beforehand, if she'd run off or if she would stay and struggle through it. There was no doubt-the curse was extremely unnerving, and the change that came over Ichigo was...

He understood why his nephew detested this curse. He also wondered who was strong enough to plant a curse that terrible, that potent. And why was Ichigo targeted? He knew what Ichigo did-he and Isshin and the old gang did it in their time-but that wasn't enough to be cursed so thoroughly.

Kuchiki Rukia and his nephew disappeared into the surrounding vegitation; at that moment he felt Tessai come up behind him.

"Manager? Do you think they'll find it before something bad happens?"

"All we can do is have hope. Besides..." A grin split his face from ear to ear, and he adopted a higher-pitched tone that was slightly breathy, "didn't you see the _chemistry_? They'll end up lovebirds before long!"

Tessai looked at him somewhat incredulously, and Urahara simply had to smile. At least that was right in the world.

He had to wonder one more thing though; how badly would his nephew kill him if he told his father that his son had (finally) picked up a potential girlfriend?

Badly, he concluded with an evil smile. And that was what would make it worth it.

* * *

Rukia set down the last lamp as the sun sank down further and crouched down next to it, exhausted. Shifting the black sword and avoiding the orange-haired man's eyes, she sparked the lantern and stepped back as the barrier hummed to life.

There was an awkward silence as Rukia fiddled with the long black katana she had been given moments earlier.

Kurosaki rolled his eyes, and she saw him open his mouth, undoubtedly to say something nasty or rude, the way he had the _entire day_. However, something made him pause when he looked at her, and he backed down. Rukia didn't know if she was relieved or disappointed; she was tired of the endless bickering, but some part of her enjoyed the challenge and the thrill of the wordplay.  
"Do you want me to get some firewood, some kindling?" He looked paler than normal in the evening shadows that the trees cast, and she couldn't help but feel a twinge of worry for him.

"Go ahead. Wash the dishes too, while you're at it."

Apparently, his nice streak had run out. She resisted the urge to sigh, and only picked up the utensils and the wooden bowls they had used. What she could use was a good long night's rest, but she had to at least keep watch a portion of the night, and she may as well conserve her energy.

She was nearly to the end of the clearing when he called out, "Hey..."

Rukia turned half-way.

"Midg-Rukia, are you feeling well?"

The rest of it was nice, but the midget comment just about ruined everything for her, Rukia thought as she looked at him with eyebrows raised.

Eyes darkening at the edges, he turned his head away from her and snorted. "Fine. Just...go do what you're going to do."

Rukia stared at him for just a moment longer, wondering how the heck she ended up with a guy who couldn't stick to the message he was sending, and then returned to walking the small ways to the nicely-sized stream nearby. The best she could do at this point, she thought, was rinse the food off as thoroughly as she could. She didn't expect it to be anything like an inn of quality, but still...

As she flicked water off the dishes and placed them in the small bag she'd been using to carry them around in, Rukia thought it'd be nice to have a bed-a real bed-at an inn during this trip. The curse couldn't be that bad, could it?

Urahara's serious, ominous face flashed behind her eyes, but she shook her head and dismissed it for the time being. Until she saw the effects of the curse as they were, she couldn't really say they were dire and terrible like Urahara said they were.

Though, if they were terrible, Rukia admitted while rooting around for nicely-sized and already dead wood, it would make some sense that Kurosaki had insisted they skirt around the decently-sized Karakura town. She felt she was missing something, that she was overlooking something somebody had mentioned to her, but it wasn't that important, was it?

After the sun went down, Rukia placed the last stick on top of the impressive pile she had using a simple levitation spell. It should be enough for her client, she thought, and avoiding conflict with him was simply the best for her health at the moment. Navigating her way back to the campsite, she absentmindedly marched straight over to the fire and then, a foot or two away from the stone-encircled flames, dropped her load neatly. Rukia threw a couple sticks in and then looked up from the campfire.

She froze, and the being inside-he looked like Ichigo, but he was bleached out and his eyes...his eyes had black sclera and a golden iris-giggled.

Even though Rukia didn't know Kurosaki well, she knew that no self-respecting young man would be caught dead giggling. There was an insanity in the cursed Ichigo's eyes, and instead of an ever-present scowl, there was an ever-present grin that revealed black teeth and blue tongue.

"Hello," it said in a warbley, high-pitched voice, its reiatsu-dark and evil feeling- flaring and forcing her to take an involuntary, fear-driven step back. "Ru-ki-a-chan~"


End file.
